Motor-vehicle drive mechanism.



. GARGETT.

MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVE MECHANISM.

PPLICATION FILED DEC. I7. |917.

Patented June 11, 1918.

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Patented June 11, 1918.

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Llllrlmr G. I. GARGETT.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC= I7. I9II .Y GEORGE m 15.?!

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Sireciflton f Letters' Patent Patented une 11, 1918.

Application led December 17, 1817. Serial No. 207,561.

4useful Improvemtnts in Motor-Vehicle Drive Mechanism; and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact descri tion of the invention, such as will enab e others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its principal object to provide a simple and compact variable speed transmission to be employed between the usual variable speed and reverse gearing of motor vehicles and the two-part shafts thereof which drive the wheels of the machine, the sections of said shafts either carrying two of the wheels or being operatively connected thereto in any preferred manner,

by gears, chains or the like. By the provision of the second set of transmission gears, the operator of the -vehicle may take advantage of smooth level stretches and increase the speed of the vehicle without driving the motor above a predetermined speed. Much better results are thus obtained than those derived by driving the motor at an excessive speed, since if the carbureter is set for a certain number of revolutionsper minute, any speed above this will result in poor mixing of the air and gas. Furthermore, the ignition system docs not operate properly when the motor is driven at a speed above that at which it is intended to travel.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the transmission gearing as to es,-

tablish substantially a direct drive betweenl the motor and the-two-.part shaft above referred to, regardless of the adjustment of said gearing for different speeds.

With the foregoing general objects in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction and unique combinations of. parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanyin drawings which form a part of this speciiigcation and in which l Figure 1 is a horizontal section of the improved transmission set for driving at maximum speed; and

Fig; 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with parts in elevation and showing the relative 56 positions of parts when slower speed and vmorepower is to be'itransmitted to the wheels. l

1. In the drawings above briefly described,

the numerals 1 designate the two halves or sections of the twb-part shaft of a motor Vehicle, the. ends of said shaft'driving the Wheels of the machine in any preferred manner. The inner ends of the halves or'sec'- t1ons.'1 are connected by diiferential gearing 2 which includes a rotatable housing 3, said housing having .a relatively short-tubular hub 4 extending in one direction around one of the sections 1 and a comparatively long Vtubular hub 5 projecting inthe opposite direction around the other shaft section. The hub 4 and the ends of the hub 5 remote' from the housing 3, are rotatably mounted in ball bearmgs or the like 6v in a suitable tubular casing 7 which surrounds the shaft sections 1. Longitudinal shifting of these sections is prevented by appropriate thrust bearings 8 which abut the other sides of the bearings 6, adjustment of s'aid thrust bearings-being effected by the threaded-abutments 9.

v The tubular hub 5 is provided with an integral annular flange 10 rigidly carrying an inner bevel gear ring 11 and an outer bevel gear ring 12, the two being concentric. A

relatively small bevel pinion 13 meshes with A the gear ring 11 and a larger bevel pinion 14 meshes with the -ring 12, means -being provided for driving either one of these inions so as to control the rotativespeed o the two-part shaft above described. 'Y

Pinion 14 is formed on one end of an outer tubular shaft 15 which is positioned at right angles to the shaft section 1, said tubular j shaft being rotatably supported in ball bearings or the like 16 which aremounted in a housing 17 extending from the housing '17 at the center of the casing 7 said last named housing containing the Adifferential gearing 2 and the gear rings 11 and 12. A thrust bearing 16 preferably of the ball bearing type is lalso provided for the shaft 15, said 100 bearing being preferably located between the supporting bearings 16 as shown. The end of the shaft 15 opposite the pinionV 14, is provided with a hollow cylindrical head 18 which is rigidly keyed thereon, the ex- 105 terior of said head having aplurali ,of cir-- cumferentiallyfspaced teeth 19, w e a ball bearing 20 is housed within said head ffor 4rotatably supporting one end of a shaft 21 which passes through the tubular shaft 15 110 other end vof shaft 21 is supported by a suitable bearin l 22 Ain the housing 18 and this end of`s`ai shaft carries` the s mall bevel pinion 13. Suitable thrust bearings 23 are provided for shaft 21, one ofsaid bearings beinglocated between the two pinlons 13 and 14 while the other abuts the outer end of the bearing 20. p

The end of the shaft 21 opposite pinion 13 is provided with a suitably shaped head 24 having external clutch teeth 25 spaced from the teeth 19 of head 18 and a hollow clutch member 26 is movable over said head and provided with internal clutch teeth 27 for 'engagement either with the teeth 19 or 25,

said clutch member being mounted slidably on a drive shaft 28, said shaft extending through the front end of housing -17 and being mounted in an appropriate bearing 29 carried within said housing.

For shifting the clutch member 26 V-into engagement with the teeth 19 or 25, or into a neutral position between these sets of Yso ' cles, it will lead to the usual transmission 35y teeth, a collar 30 is mounted in a groove 31 with which the hub of said clutch member is provided, said collar having a lateral arm 32 secured to a sliding shaft 33 parallel with shaft 28, any preferred means such as that indicated at 34 `being provided for sliding shaft 33 to the required extent.-

The shaft 28 may be driven in any preferred manner but upon most motor vehiwhich includes variable speed and reverse gearing, as well as a clutch, the motor 36 being operatively connected with the transmission in any preferred manner. When' 'the invention is so installed, shifting of the clutch member 26 so that its teeth 27 engage theteeth 25 ofhead 24, will cause shaft 28 to drive shaft 21 and the latter in turn drives the differential housing 3 through the in-v strumentality of the pinion13, the gear ring 11, and the hub 5. Under normal circumstanc the drive is eected through the means Just described, but whenever a smooth level stretch is encountered and the speed of the vehicle may be 'increased without injury to any parts thereof, the clutch member 26 is shifted into operative engagement with the head 18 as shown in Fig. 1. The drive is now through the,A shaft 15 and its pinion 14 to the 'gear 'ring 12 and from this ring to the differential housing 3 by way of the hollow hub 5. Greater speed of the vehicle is thus obtained without increasing the speed of the motor` and a great deal of fuel is i saved.

On account ofthe advantages above set forth, I consider that my invention resides not only in the construction of my improved transmission regardless of the manner in lwhich it is driven, but in the combinationr of an auxiliary variable speed transmission for driving the two-part shaft from the usual transmission gearing including variable speed and reverse means. It is also to be understood that the invention is applicable regardless of the exact manner in which power is transmitted from the shaftsections 1 to the wheels of the machine, such details being left' entirelyto the discretion of the manufacturer and to the conditions which must be encountered.

Since probably the best results are obtained fromv the several specific details shown and described, thesedetails are preferably employed, but I wish'it understood that within the scope of thv invention as claimed, numerous minor changes may Awell be made. v

I claim:

1. .In a motor vehicle drive mechanism, the

combination of a differential housing, av` hub extending from said housing, an annular flange on said hub, a pair of concentric bevel l gear rings mounted on said flange, an outer tubular-shaft, a beveled pinion on one end bearing means for said inner shaft includin a bearing in said combined hollow head an y clutch member, a driven clutch member coacting with the aforesaid clutchmember and with saidv combined head amil clutch member for driving either shaft, and means for shifting said driven clutch member into either of its operative positions. v

2. In a motor vehicle driven mechanism, the combination of sa diferential housing, a hub extending from said housing, an annu- 4 lar Hange on said hub, two concentric bevel gear rings mounted on said flange, an outer tubular shaft, a bevel pinion at one end of said tubular shaft meshing with the outer gear ring, an enlarged hollow head on the other end of said tubular shaft having ex-y 'ternal clutch teeth, thrust and supporting bearings surrounding said tubular shaft, an inner shaft passing rotatably through said tubular shaft and extending beyond both ends thereof, a supporting bearing for the end of said inner shaft adjacent said pinion, a beveled -pinion on this end of said inner shaft and meshing with the inf4 ber on the other end of said inner shaft, f

the aforesaid sets of teeth, and means for shifting said hollow clutch member.

inions2 a.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

. GEORGE IRA GARG'ETT.

Witnesses:

F. H. ROWLAND, JOHN P. FmuNcn.' 

